Transcripts

Patricia B. McConnell PhD:
When we want a dog to come to us, the human thing to do is to look right at them, call their name, and take a step forward. That actually stops dogs. That's like a traffic cop.

Dr. Patricia McConnell, author of the book, The Other End of the Leash.

If you want a dog to come to you, dogs want to go the way your feet and your face and your chest is pointed, so the best way to get a dog to come to you, ironically, is to turn and go the other way.

When humans greet each other, we look directly into the eyes of the other person.

And that's a friendly thing to do. But to a shy dog who's uncomfortable around people that she or he doesn't know, having someone stare right in their eyes and walk directly towards them, extending that paw out right towards their head, is very threatening. So a lot of dogs will hide behind their owners and some of them will even growl or bite because they're so appalled by the threatening behavior of this ironically friendly person.

A better way to greet a dog you don't know is…

Stopping and standing sideways and not making direct eye contact. I do a lot of work with aggressive dogs and I turn a little sideways, I slap my hand on my thigh, I don't look directly in their eyes. That tends to take the pressure off a dog. Then let them come to you. Let them come up to you and sniff your hand. If they don't want to come up to you, then they don't want you to pet them.

For transcripts and our free online newsletter, visit our website, somethingyoushouldknow.net. I'm Mike Carruthers and that's "Something You Should Know."